Swamp White Oak

0-052      Three swamp white oaks (Quercus bicolor) can be seen in a group between the Purple Heart memorial and the World War Two memorial. They were planted here in 2005, one year after the World War II memorial was dedicated, to honor those who served in the military and especially those who became casualties or went missing in action. In an unintentional parallel action, a grove of this robust Illinois native tree species also was chosen for planting at the 911 Memorial in New York City. Many other examples of this tree can be found planted nearby and in other parts of Oak Ridge Cemetery.

95-22      We grew this swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) from seed collected from an old tree at the Morton Arboretum. It’s a strong, adaptable tree commonly seen in cultivation on a variety of sites, but its native home is on poorly drained sites and flood plains. There are several other swamp white oaks in this part of Oak Ridge, and while they all share similar bark and foliage characteristics if you look closely you can see subtle differences among them.

Locations:

0-052   39.819445 N, 89.662015 W (West tree of three)     Get walking directions here!

95-22   39.820422 N, 89.661988 W     Get walking directions here!

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